The Birth of Strategy: Long-term Thinking
A calamitous nimbus gathered over Athens.
In 524 BC Athens, a man “who was at once the best judge in those sudden crises,” praises Thucydides, “which admit of little or of no deliberation, and the best prophet of the future, even to its most distant possibilities,” named Themistocles was born.
In an era not far distant, the Athenian commanders pierced through the veil of impending future events, discerning in the swelling might of the Persian empire — a force alien to Hellenic customs — a blade poised at the heart of the Peloponnese. In their calculation, it seemed prudent not merely to fortify against this rising menace but to sever its roots before it could bear poisonous fruit. Thus, they fomented rebellion against this dominion.
This machination drew the anger of their sovereign, Darius. He envisioned retribution. The campaign started shimmering with the allure of opportunity; victory meant not only the dulling of the Athenian thorn but the gilding of his extensive empire.
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